A rope assembly is typically a combination of individual elongate rope elements. A metal rope comprises metal wires, a natural rope comprises natural fibers, and a synthetic rope comprises synthetic fibers. The elements of a rope can be made of the same material, or a rope can be made of different rope elements. The number of rope elements, functional characteristics of the rope elements, and method by which the rope elements are combined will determine the operating characteristics of the rope.
When a rope assembly fails, at least a portion of the failed rope assembly may move in space, resulting in the potential for danger to persons and/or damage to structures near the point of failure. Movement of a rope assembly upon failure is often referred to as “recoil”. The precise nature and extent of the danger posed by the recoil of a failed rope assembly depends on factors such as the nature of the rope assembly and the environment in which the rope assembly is used.
The need exists for systems and methods that minimize the recoil of a rope assembly and thus the danger posed by failure of the rope assembly. The need also exists for systems and methods that allow a user of a rope system to detect whether a rope forming a part of the overall rope system has been loaded past a predetermined design limit.